Sick
by Gozilla
Summary: (AU) The Elric brothers were on the way to search for the legendary philosopher’s stone. They were lost in a forest. Edward was behaving strangely and Al wanted to find out why.


**Sick**

By Gozilla

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I don't have anything. So don't sue me!

Please excuse my poor English. -

Reviews are most welcomed!!

Enjoy!!

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A/N: This is my second Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic and I plan to make it a short one. Please feel free to review and comment!

Summary: This is an A/U fic. The Elric brothers were on the way to search for the legendary philosopher's stone. They were lost in a forest. Edward was behaving strangely and Al wanted to find out why.

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"Damn it!!" Edward swore angrily, "We are back to the same spot _again_!!!"

"Niisan, please calm down." Al said, walking behind his brothers, "I know we are lost, but I am sure we will find the way out. We just need a bit of extra time."

"But we have been here for three whole days already!!" Edward shouted to the sky in extreme frustration.

Three weeks ago, the Elric Brothers received rumours that there was sighting of a mysterious red stone with healing powers in a small village located in the middle of a vast forest located near a remote border of the Eastern district. The brothers spent two whole weeks getting to the area and tried to find the village.

The forest was cold and wet. To make things worse, the forest terrains was harsh and maze-like. They got lost a few times before meeting a person from the village who led them to their destination. Unfortunately, but expected, the rumours were wrong. Disappointed, the Elric Brothers left the village in no time searching for other clues about the philosopher's stone.

After a turning a few corners in the forest, the brothers soon realised that they were lost, again. They tried to return to the village in order to get someone to guide them through the forest but failed, making them went even deeper into the forest.

As if the sky was going into a mischief with them, the weather changed dramatically from cold to freezing and it started to rain half an hour ago. Unable to find shelter, like a cave or something, and unable to create one with alchemistry as the mud on the floor are too soft and wet, the brothers continued to walk under the heavy rain, trying to find a way out from the forest.

"I told you to bring along an umbrella." Al commented as he saw his brother was soaked from head to toe under the heavy rain.

"I don't need such troublesome thing." Edward replied, "I am not afraid of this tiny rain..." before he could finish the sentence, Edward sneezed.

"Are you all right?" Al asked, concerned.

"Of course I am." Edward said stubbornly, rubbing his itching nose. In reality, he felt freezing cold. Instinctively, despite that his coat was thoroughly soaked, he wrapped it tightly around himself, trying to retain as such body heat as possible.

Edward would never admit any discomfort he felt to Al. Ever since that faithful day, Al became a walking suit of armour and was unable to experience the most basic feelings of a human being: the temperature, pain, hunger etc. Edward had always taken himself fully responsible for the incidence. He swore to himself that he would, if necessary, sacrifice everything, including his life, to restore his brother's body. His guilt and the fact that Al could not feel the elements had prevented him from complaining on any discomfort he experienced.

"Let's go, I want to get out of here as soon as possible." Edward changed the subject and quickened his pace, not wanting Al to worry about his condition.

"Wait for me, niisan." Al ran to catch up with his brother, slightly confused by his brother's behaviour.

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-Three hours later-

The brothers walked under the pouring rain for over three hours and still they had no clue of how to leave the forest. Al had been following his brother while looking around, trying to find out exactly where they were.

Al noticed that Edward's pace had slowed down over time. He did not think much about it as he thought Edward was just getting tired.

Suddenly, Edward started coughing vigorously.

"Niisan, are you all right?" Al asked in concern and went in front of his brother. He was shocked to see Edward's very pale face and almost purple lips. It was then Al noticed that Edward was shivering under his completed soaked jacket.

"Niisan..." Al said hesitantly.

"I... I am... all right." Edward said in a shaking voice. He forced a smile, trying to comfort his worried brother.

Al was even more worried as he saw a cloud of steam forming as Edward speaks, indicating the temperature had dropped significantly over the past few hours. Unable to feel the elements, Al did not notice the fact until now.

"Niisan, you are freezing." Al said worriedly, "You should have told me earlier. Let's stop for a while and find a shelter."

Edward nodded in silence after hesitated for a moment. He felt as if the world was spinning and his head was splitting in halves. Although he wanted to leave the forest as soon as possible, he had to admit that he had no strength left to wander in the forest under the freezing rain. Without another word, he followed Al, who started looking around for shelter.

Al frantically looked for a shelter in the forest. Edward's quick and quiet agreement to his suggestion made Al very worried. Al turned slightly and took a glimpse of his brother. He felt heart sank as he saw Edward's golden eyes were dulled with exhaustion and arms wrapped tightly around his shivering body. Al knew he must find a shelter as soon as possible.

After searching for 15 minutes, Al concluded that there was no cave or real shelter available nearby. All he could find was a space covered by a thicker layer of tree tops. Although it was anything but dry, it was better than staying in an open area under the heavy rain.

Al gathered some fallen leaves from nearby and created a bed beside a large tree for Edward. Obediently, Edward sat on the leave bed, leaning against the tree trunk. He curled himself into a tight ball with his knees drawn to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs, most of his face hidden behind the arms.

Al quickly searched through their luggage and found a spare coat which was not too wet. "Niisan," Al turned to his brother, "You'd better take off your clothes. They are thoroughly wet and..." Al stopped as he found that Edward was not responding, eyes closed and seemingly asleep.

Al sighed and gently uncurled his brother and took off Edward's soaking coat. He was shocked to notice that, despite of the apparently chilling weather, Edward's face was blushing red while his real hand was pale as paper.

"Niisan, wake up." Al gently shook Edward's shoulder, "What is going on? How are you feeling?"

To Al's horror, Edward simply fell limply onto the leave bed. His breathing was short and shallow. A thin layer of sweat formed over his forehead despite the cold weather. Even though Al could not feel the temperature, he knew that his brother was running a high fever.

Quickly, Al took off Edward's soaking clothes and put on the less-wet clothes. But the rain water dripping everywhere from the trees threatened to soak the elder brother again.

"What should I do?" Al thought in panic, "There is no shelter around here. I must keep niisan dry and warm. But where I can do that..."

Suddenly, a thought struck Al and he quickly took off the large chest-plate of his armour, revealing the dry interior of the armour suit. Gently, he lifted Edward and put him into his body, the armour suit, before putting the chest-plate back on.

Al's heart sank as he felt his brother shivering inside the armour suit. He felt helpless as he could do nothing but to shield the chilly rain and wind from his brother. Suddenly, he remembered the melody which their mother used to hum in order to comfort them when they fell sick. Quietly, Al hummed the melody and felt peace returning to his heart. Eventually, he felt his brother relaxed and stopped shivering inside the armour suit.

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-Next morning-

Edward woke at the warm morning sunlight. He opened his eyes and found that he was lying on a bed made of leaves under the trees. He had no memories of how he got to this place at all. He knew it must be his brother who took care of him during the night. He looked around and found no sign of Al.

"Al?" Edward asked as he sat up. He felt like his body was going to fall into pieces and he could feel some residual heat radiating from his face.

"I must have had a fever last night." Edward thought as he stood, swaying slightly as his legs were weak. "Al? Where are you?" Edward shouted and was getting worried about his brother.

"I am here, niisan." Al walked out of the dense forest, with a few pieces of fruit on his hands. "How are you feeling? I have got you some breakfast."

"I am fine." Edward said. Actually his head ached and his whole body sore, but he did not want Al to worry about him. Instead, he was worried about his younger brother "Al, have you dried yourself? Don't let the water get into the joints or they may get rusty. Do you want me to oil the joints for you?"

"I have dried myself, niisan." Al felt warmth in his heart as he knew his brother always cares about him no matter what, "There is no need to oil the joints yet. And, niisan, I think I found a way out when I was looking for your breakfast."

"Really?" Edward said excitedly. He took an apple from Al's hand and bit a mouthful, "What are we waiting for? Let's get going. I want to leave this disgusting place as soon as possible." He took his travelling pack. He felt as if the pack was three times heavier than usual. He knew immediately that the fever has significantly weakened his body.

To Edward's surprise, the heavy burden was suddenly lifted from him. Edward looked up to see Al took the pack and started walking.

Al knew his brother was recovering from the fever and still very weak. But, knowing his brother's exceptionally strong pride well, Al chose not to say a word about this or how he had protected Edward the night before. "This way, niisan."

Edward smiled and quietly followed his younger brother.

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The End

Hope you enjoyed the story!

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